Tri-Town reaches out to gov, lawmakers over proposed SouthField changes

South Shore Tri-Town Development Corp. CEO Kevin Donovan on Tuesday sent letters to Gov. Deval Patrick, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray saying that the Legislature shouldn't act on the changes proposed by master developer Starwood Land Ventures without support from Rockland and Abington.

With a proposed overhaul of SouthField apparently poised to end up before the state Legislature, the agency overseeing the faltering project has reached out to the governor and top lawmakers, urging them to oppose it.

In a letter sent Tuesday to Gov. Deval Patrick, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray, South Shore Tri-Town Development Corp. CEO Kevin Donovan said the Legislature shouldn’t act on the changes proposed by master developer Starwood Land Ventures without support from Rockland and Abington.

Weymouth Mayor Susan Kay said Monday that she could get behind the changes if she can hammer out additional safeguards for the town while the Legislature reviews the proposal. She is due to provide an update to the town council at a meeting Thursday night.

“SouthField is not just a Weymouth project, and the rights, impacts and concerns of the 33,285 people in the towns of Rockland and Abington cannot be ignored and cast aside in favor of expediency as those advocating for quick action would have you believe,” Donovan said in his letter.

SouthField is the redeveloping of the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station. It includes land in Weymouth, Rockland and Abington.

Starwood, which is still the majority landowner, wants the Legislature to, by July 31, approve sweeping changes to the project, including slashing Tri-Town’s power and shifting responsibility for public services to the towns. Each town would also be able to collect property taxes on its section.

Rockland’s and Abington’s town meetings each voted in favor of resolutions saying the Legislature should not pass anything without their support.

Rockland Town Administrator Allan Chiocca said Tuesday that Starwood has not asked for the scheduling of a town meeting where Rockland residents would vote on the changes.

“I would hope the Legislature wouldn’t trample on the rights of the towns of Rockland and Abington,” Chiocca said. “If that happens, I imagine there will be litigation, which could tie up any development for years.”

Last month, Tri-Town reached out to the Navy, asking it to step in and oppose the changes. The Navy said it is staying out of the dispute.

Michael Sherry, a spokesman for Starwood, said in an email that the company hopes to reach a deal with Weymouth soon. He accused Tri-Town of stalling.

Asked if Starwood would go back to Rockland and Abington to get their approvals before going to the Legislature, Sherry responded, “We are in continuous communication with the Rockland Board of Selectmen and hope we will soon conclude our negotiations with a positive outcome.”

Page 2 of 2 - Starwood and Tri-Town have blamed each other for the project stalling and failing to draw commercial development. Starwood has said it could walk off the project if the Legislature doesn’t approve the changes by the end of the month.

A week ago, Tri-Town fired Starwood as the master developer over a billing dispute, but Starwood asserts that Tri-Town did not have the authority to do it.

Reach Christian Schiavone at cschiavone@ledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @CSchiavo_Ledger.